TORONTO, Nov. 22, 2012 /CNW/ -The Ombudsman for Banking Services and
Investments (OBSI) today announced the refusal of W.H. Stuart &
Associates ('W.H. Stuart') to compensate its customers in the amount of
$41,066 as recommended by OBSI.

W.H. Stuart is a family-owned independent mutual fund dealer and
insurance agency based in Markham, Ontario. A retired elderly couple,
Mr. and Mrs. I, brought their complaint to OBSI after unsuccessfully
trying to resolve their complaint with W.H. Stuart directly.

Mr. and Mrs. I were low to medium-risk investors with limited investment
knowledge, limited income and net worth, and no investment experience
in individual stocks or private shares. On the recommendation of their
W.H. Stuart advisor the complainants purchased shares in an extremely
small private company that later went bankrupt. The investment was
portrayed as a guaranteed, risk-free investment that was in fact a
high-risk, speculative investment unsuitable for them given their
personal and financial circumstances.

W.H. Stuart is responsible for the advisor's unsuitable recommendations
that led to Mr. and Mrs. I's unsuitable investment portfolio at the
firm. If W.H. Stuart had assessed the suitability of the initial shares
they purchased and warned them of the risks, the complainants could
have sold the shares without a loss and avoided purchasing additional
shares on which they also incurred losses. W.H. Stuart has chosen not
to fulfill its responsibilities to the complainants and provide the
compensation they are owed based on the facts of the case.

OBSI's recommended compensation amount of $41,066 is arrived at by first
calculating the difference between the amount the investors' accounts
should have been worth had they been suitably invested and the actual
value as of the date they removed their investments from W.H. Stuart.
Interest was then added to compensate the investors for the loss of use
of their money, calculated from the date they first complained to the
firm.

At the direction of securities regulators, OBSI established a one-time
method of independent review of certain cases that were headed towards
refusals to compensate. Mr. and Mrs. I's case was one of them. Firms
were offered the opportunity to have credible and experienced former
commissioners of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) provide an
independent assessment of the files in question based on standards
consistent with OBSI's Terms of Reference. If OBSI had unfairly
considered the facts of the case or our investigation findings were
objectively flawed, the reviewer would say so in their report on the
matter. W. H. Stuart chose not to take up this offer.

A copy of OBSI's investigation report regarding this case is available on OBSI's website. Some names and
personal information have been edited from the original version to
protect the identity of certain individuals involved, including Mr. and
Mrs. I.

Where a complaint is found to have merit, OBSI makes a recommendation
for compensation where it would be fair to do so, taking into account
all of the facts and circumstances of the case. Refusals by firms to
follow an OBSI recommendation to compensate mean that OBSI must
publicize that refusal and the details of the complaint under Section
27 of OBSI's Terms of Reference. OBSI has taken several significant and extraordinary steps to resolve this and certain other complaints that could not be resolved
before we've resorted to announcing a refusal to compensate.

***

OBSI is Canada's national independent dispute resolution service for
consumers and small businesses with a complaint they can't resolve with
their banking services or investment firm. As a free alternative to the
legal system, we work informally and confidentially to find fair
outcomes to disputes about banking and investment products and
services. Over 99.8% of the thousands of complaints brought to OBSI
since the organization's inception have been successfully resolved.

OBSI looks into complaints about most banking and investment matters
including: debit and credit cards; mortgages; stocks, mutual funds,
income trusts, bonds and GICs; loans and credit; fraud; investment
advice; unauthorized trading; fees and rates; transaction errors;
misrepresentation; and accounts sent to collections. Where a complaint
has merit, OBSI may recommend compensation up to a maximum of $350,000.

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